Wisps
by Her Head In the Clouds
Summary: Even a leader and commanding officer like Aerrow can have secret hangouts, but at least he's willing to share... AerrowPiper


_**A/n:**__ Wow, it's been a while! I hope you're all doing well this October! Crazy things are happening, with my other stories and I don't intend to give you guys a back seat. I hope I can flush out a few more fanfictions before this month ends. Gosh I miss writing for Storm Hawks! :) I hope this little blurb will get my SH ball rolling again. Now get yourself comfy and prepare for a fluffy!_

_::Dedications to all my dear readers and reviewers who I'd write by name – but it's now 4am and I need sleep! But I hope you know who you are when I mean 'you'. ;) _

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><p><em><strong>Wisps<br>by: Her Head in the Clouds  
>October 8<strong>__**th**__**, 2011**_

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><p>And so when Aerrow was out of ideas and for once, out of fire in his spirit that constantly drove him, he threw all duties and responsibilities to the wind (or rather, to Stork's piloting chair – much to the Merb's annoyance) and went up on deck and did nothing. Absolutely nothing.<p>

And if he was lucky, the low hum of the Condor's engine would lull him into a dreamless sleep and recharge his mental crystals just in time for a warm and welcomed Piper to come and find him. That's how he did it, that's how they did it – that's how he and Piper worked, in their unspoken understanding and silent communication. He didn't have to worry about being late or looking lazy because she would always be there to cover for him when he went up on the roof, attached a safety line from the hook of his belt to a nearby latch, and laid himself down on the cold, metal armor. He wasn't going anywhere, just up.

Aerrow would take a short stretch, relieving the twisted knots in his back and shoulders, feeling the sensation of bliss tingle and ripple down his muscles before he sighed gratefully and relaxed into the air bound ship's outer shell beneath him. The weathered steel was smooth and ever cool beneath his light-clothed uniform, prickling his skin inside for some moments before he grew used to it. Flying through wind currents had that effect on things, had that effect on him. When Aerrow wasn't inside the Condor or down on a warm terra where the sun always shined, he was generally cold all the time. It came with the job but he didn't dislike it – if anything, it kept him alert, awake, _alive_.

The frost of the morning winds prickled at his lips and fingertips, and the evening air pulled a puff of air from his mouth. He shivered constantly no matter what he was wearing, and he always made sure Piper stocked up their kitchen with tea bags and their infirmary with cough drops and medicine. He may still be a teenager, but Aerrow wasn't stupid. At altitudes this high where the temperatures loved nothing more than hitting 0 degrees multiple times, he had to look out for his team.

And so when Aerrow was out of duties, and he came up on the Condor's roof, and was lucky to take a quick nap, he'd slip a mint in between his teeth before he dozed off to avoid any major throat ruptures later. Aerrow liked the cold, but he wasn't above thinking he wouldn't, _couldn't_ get sick.

So the minutes ticked like hours, and the hour felt like a day. But Aerrow didn't care. He was sleeping with nothing but a cotton ball floating in his head filled with the sounds of the Condor's humming…

…and for once, just this one time, the sound of someone else's breathing.

He held his own to check. But the sound of a light snore was playing beside his left ear.

He didn't have to open his eyes to instinctively know it was a fellow Storm Hawk. Most definitely not Junko whose snores where ten times that decibel, and sure as hell not Finn's, who mumbled things under his breath and tossed around a lot – a shove or nudge would've happened more than anything if it _was _Finn. And Stork, he was just out of the question. So he opened his eyes.

That only left Radarr, because he'd never slept this close with Piper in his life.

And he was half-right. Half-surprised. And half-impressed.

Radarr was definitely the one making soft snores in the back of his furry throat, twitching slightly when the occasional heavy breeze blew and tickled his exposed skin under his fur. And Piper was underneath him, holding him like a soft stuffed arm atop her stomach. Her eyes were closed in sleep and her deep breathing couldn't be heard over the sound of the Condor's humming. With a quick glance, Aerrow reassured himself that she had a safety line attached around her (and Radarr) as well.

Aerrow smiled. The years of growing up in the world he was in, and being surrounded by the people he held close, had been kind to his maturity and gentle understanding for comfort. He was no more obnoxious or crazy than Finn at times, but on levels like this where he didn't even have to pronounce or define to himself what that kind of comfort meant, Aerrow knew he was different from other guys – or maybe, just very privileged.

Nobody had people the way he had Radarr and Piper. For despite the immediate family he finds in the entire, _five-team_ ensemble, Aerrow has never cherished anything as great as the thing he _confides_ in the two special people sleeping beside him now. If anyone knew how better to explain that from Aerrow's perspective it was Piper, or Radarr; if you played the right game of charades.

So when Aerrow woke up and found the two of them sleeping soundlessly beside him, he didn't need to say anything or do anything, but lie back down and relax again (maybe even a little bit better), before he sighed softly and look up into the Atmosian sky.

"…You okay?" Piper spoke softly.

Her voice didn't scare him but she mildly surprised him. Then again, they were always like that. Unspoken bonds were truly wonderful. He smiled even though he knew she couldn't see it as she pretended to be sleeping.

"_Mhmm_," he answered with a tease in his voice. Without even realizing it, he inclined his head a little to his left, only glancing a look to her long legs before looking up at the sky again.

"You cold?" he asked softly.

"No, I'm okay."

A moment of silence passed between them but it is neither tense nor awkward. Aerrow tried to reassure himself that her uniform is just as thick his and that she is telling the truth – the keywords, _tried to. _He couldn't help the urge to go all parental on her and tell her to grab a blanket. He smiled at the silly thought before he fell back into a state of numbing bliss. His cheeks were cold.

"The others?"

"Stork's making dinner, Junko's watching the helm. And Finn…" she dropped the sentence carelessly but doesn't mean to. With Finn, nothing really ever has a explanation worth explaining. So Aerrow chuckled and tried to think of other things to ask Piper. Moments like this were rare with her.

As if picking up on his gentle press for conversation, Piper opened her eyes slowly with a warm smile on her youthful features. She gave Radarr a small rub on the neck.

"Radarr likes it up here," she commented calmly. Aerrow turned his head back toward her.

"He does?"

"That's why he fell asleep so fast. He's comfortable."

"I've never taken him up here before, and he's never joined me," Aerrow pondered thoughtfully. He suddenly felt guilty for not letting the little guy in on his secret past time.

But was it even really secret? He'd only come up on the roof of the Condor as it flew when he didn't have anything else to do, so maybe Radarr was always just busy around the times that he did. Piper always knew, even knew from the first time he'd come up for air without even asking. She just found him. Maybe, in a way, she knew that Radarr and Aerrow needed this too. When a passing thought tickled his mind, his grinned softly.

"Heh, or maybe he's only so relaxed because he's lying on top of you," he teased. She raised on eyebrow.

"Jealous?"

"Always."

Aerrow sensed a laugh bubble up inside her but she kept it in, for Radarr's sake of sleep. When it died down, she sighed softly and the silence came back like a blanket.

Several minutes past, and Aerrow thought that maybe Piper was sleeping. Nothing but the slight ruffle of her uniform shirt or her blue tufts of hair blowing in his peripheral vision told him she might still be awake. But Aerrow somehow just knew. Piper might pretend to sleep for the sake of his peace, but she would never do that, the same way he would never stop glancing over at her.

They were both stubborn; they both had their own personal agendas. They both had equal care for one another. And if Radarr nuzzled Piper in his sleep and she didn't so much as 'stir from her slumber' as she rubbed his head, Aerrow could be assured that the care was still there, and always would be.

The Condor gradually began to enter a spot in the air pocket where the clouds began appear and take shape, forming a new, almost surreal, sense of wonder. As Aerrow watched thoughtfully, he recognized by the clusters of altocumulus and higher cirrus clouds that they were somewhere between 18,000 to 20,000 leagues above the terra range. Like sky tuna and winged birds, the clouds stretched across the sky, filtering the sun's bright rays and drifting lazily all around them. Once in a while, a thick cloud would cast a small shadow over his features and his green, emerald eyes would fix on the sun behind it unharmed. His wild red hair blew his bangs up and he smiled at the feeling.

"That one looks like sunflower," Piper said softly.

"Which one?" he asked, squinting slightly once the cloud passed on and the sun was on his face again.

"That one, near the fat one shaped like a hippo."

Looking at the fattest cloud Aerrow could see, he looked around it and grinned softly.

"Ah, I got it."

"Weird, huh?" she giggled softly to not disturb Radarr.

"Well, how about that one? It looks like King Agar's head."

"Aerrow!"

Her commanding officer laughed lightly.

"And that one, way high up, looks like a sky skimmer…"

"…Uh, now it's a ..lumpy sky skimmer," Piper noted as some of the clouds began to merge together and separate.

"Well, about that one? It looks like my coffee mug."

"Mhm, and _that_ looks like a cooking crystal!" Piper said proudly. Aerrow snickered and she smiled.

"Heh, I knew you'd say that."

And for the next hour, they kept on guessing. Because they didn't need to sleep, they didn't need to talk about Storm Hawk responsibilities, they did that any way. So when Aerrow was out of ideas, and he came on the roof, and he was lucky if Piper came up with a sleeping Radarr and they did nothing, _absolutely nothing_, Aerrow was okay that.

Because they didn't those constant reminders, they looked after one another;

So they already knew.

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><p><em>~Okay so, uber fuzziness I know! I need to write some dark, angsty fanfictions for this, and I will! I swear! Once my other writing projects are done and over with, I'll try something tingz! Well, I hope you enjoyed reading, thanks again, and stay gold!<em>

_Much love, Abby~_


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